On her third trip to New Balance Outdoor Nationals, Shannon Ziccarello was much more calm. A Whippany Park senior who already signed a National Letter of Intent to The Citadel, Ziccarello won the Emerging Elite javelin with a personal best of 125-9.

She traveled to Greensboro, N.C., with United Athletes, a Bergen County club team. But despite a bus breakdown, Ziccarello made it back to North Carolina A&T to cheer some of her Wildcats teammates as well.

Whippany Park freshman Savanna Marcantonio was 15th out of 38 competitors. Wildcats senior Joseph Thoma, the Morris County 800-meter champion, was 14th in a 45-person field in the EE 800 (1:55.92).

"Since I've been here, I definitely calmed down. I've experienced all the pressure," Ziccarello said. "All the college coaches are lined up, but I don’t need to worry about that anymore. I wanted to enjoy the last time here. ... I went for my last throw, and I thought, this is my last throw for high school. I’ve got to really go for it. I took a deep breath and relaxed and I threw it."

♦ Kevin Sembrat was ready to run in the NBON 400 meters when he checked in early Saturday afternoon. But Sembrat, a Roxbury senior, had been moved into the seeded heat.

Several hours later, Sembrat stepped to the line and placed eighth. He was 19th overall in a deep field.

"I wish I could've had another shot," said Sembrat, who will report to West Point cadet basic training on July 2. "I had to decompress all the adrenaline. Having to come back from that without running, I was ready to go."

♦ Mendham finished second in the EE 4x800 (7:53.16) with Pope John fourth. The Minutemen's boys 4xMile placed 14th (18:00.41) out of 28 entries.

♦ Villa Walsh's Sarah Hanifin, a Long Valley resident, was sixth in the freshman two mile.